“My first husband was a total loser,” Julia said. “He cheated, which I could live with, but then lied about it, which I couldn’t. I chased him out of the house with a frying pan. He never came back. Good riddance.”
“All men cheat,” one of the customers said.
“Not all,” another protested. “Some don’t.”
“Name one.”
“My Arnie. He’s a good man.”
Julia leaned close to Charity. “And butt ugly. A sweetheart, but the lights would have to be off all the time.”
Charity did her best not to respond to any part of the conversation.
“Josh ever cheated?” someone asked.
“Not that I’ve heard. He was faithful to that wife of his, not that she deserved it. Stupid cow.”
Josh had claimed to be faithful and Charity had believed him. Which might make her a fool, but she was tired of trying to be sure. After her first two disastrous relationships, she hadn’t been taking any chances with her third. She’d run a credit check and had a friend on the police force get her a DMV report. He’d been clean. Engaged to someone else living in Los Angeles, but clean.
Hurt but determined to learn from yet another mistake, Charity had accepted the job in Fool’s Gold as a way to start over. Maybe having such a public history was part of Josh’s appeal, she thought. She didn’t have to worry about any secrets. Everyone in town knew everything important about him.
She went under the hair dryer for about twenty minutes, then enjoyed a very lovely massage with her wash. When she got back into Julia’s chair, the stylist turned her away from the mirror.
“I don’t want you to see anything until I’m done.”
Charity felt a tiny knot of fear in her stomach. “I guess that means I’m going to have to trust you.”
“You’ll be happy, I promise.”
“That’s a big promise.”
One of the older ladies had finished. With her silver hair all neatly teased and sprayed, she slipped on her jacket, but instead of leaving, she walked over to Charity.
“I remember Josh when he first came here,” she said. “That mother of his was awful. He’d been in a bad fall and walked on crutches. He was about the most pitiful thing I’d ever seen. It took him nearly fifteen minutes to go a single block. How he struggled to get to school every day. That poor boy. His clothes were ragged and he was skinny as an alley cat. It about broke my heart. Then one day she was gone.”
Charity knew the general story of Josh’s past, but she’d never heard it told with such clarity.
“None of us knew what to do,” another woman added. “We didn’t want to send him to a state home, but there wasn’t much choice. Then Denise Hendrix offered to take him in. The rest of us contributed to the family, helping pay for Josh’s medical expenses.”
The first woman nodded. “He needed surgery to repair how his legs had healed wrong, then physical therapy. That’s why he started riding a bike. To strengthen his legs. Ethan rode, too.” She patted Charity’s arm. “So Josh is special to us. Always has been. You’ve got yourself a good man there.”
“Thank you.”
The old woman started to leave, then paused. Her expression turned sly. “He proposed yet?”
Charity felt the color flooding her face. Anywhere but here, she thought grimly. She wanted to be anywhere but here.
“We’re still dating. Getting to know each other.”
“I wouldn’t be as concerned about him proposing. There’s a bigger danger.”
Several of the women laughed. Charity didn’t get it until one of them added, “Feeling any cravings, hon?”
“No. I’m good. But thanks for asking.”
“Leave her alone,” Julia said firmly. “All of you. You’ll scare her off and we’ll never see her again.”
The old woman waved and left. The conversation shifted to more comfortable topics. Julia got out a blow dryer. Once she turned it on, Charity couldn’t hear anything that was being said—probably a good thing.
She promised herself she was never, ever getting her hair done in town, again. Or if she did anything, she would go see Morgan. She doubted he would bother her with a lot of personal questions.
Asking about Josh was one thing, but hinting she might be pregnant was way too intrusive. And annoying, she thought. Just because everyone knew Josh didn’t mean they had the right to butt into his personal life. There were rules in polite society. Expectations and—
“Here you go,” Julia said and turned the chair.
Charity was prepared to simply pay and run. She didn’t want to deal with the teasing anymore. But when she caught sight of herself in the mirror, she couldn’t move. She could only stare.
Her once boring plain brown hair was now rich and shiny. There were hints of gold and a tiny whisper of red threaded through the strands. But even more amazing was the cut.
Julia had shortened her hair to just below her jaw, then blown it under in a perfect bob. Feathered bangs made her eyes seem huge. When she moved her head, her hair swayed, then fell perfectly into place. It was the best cut she’d ever received in her life.
“It’s perfect,” she breathed. “I love it.”